it's that time of year

If there's anything that scares me almost as much as frogs do, it's winter. Last week, the tree outside my living room was a gorgeous shade of citrine (I should have taken a picture) and today it's almost bare. Cue seasonal depression. When I lived in St. John three years ago, I realized I was perfectly content with never seeing snow and enjoying a 70-degree Christmas Day. But, there is something to be said for the sense of renewal that comes with the seasons changing, and I missed that. Except winter; I really did not miss winter. So today, I'm holding onto fall as long as possible because THE COLORS and THE LIGHT.

Back in October, I made my second-ever trip to Murphy, NC for the gorgeous, exceptional, will-never-be-outdone wedding of Abby and Adam Williams. The first time I visited was over Labor Day in 2011, and I drove from Buxton to Murphy (even farther than Manteo to Murphy) to evacuate from Hurricane Irene because I was feelin' 22 and driving 10 hours alone seemed like a the most excellent use of a day. Now, that sounds like torture. For those of you who aren't familiar with Murphy, and I assume that's most of you unless you know Abby or Adam, it's a tiny town tucked in the southwestern corner of North Carolina, about an hour southwest of the Cherokee Reservation or, as Abby likes to say in her cute little accent, "it's 10 minutes from Georgia, 10 minutes from Tennessee." Before I visited, I thought I was from a small town; but Murphy and it's nearby counterpart, Andrews, are even tinier than almost every ENC town I can think of that has a proper downtown area. Both towns are adorable, stretching one, maybe two, stoplights and hosting the most quaint shops and restaurants.. Murphy and Andrews are also nestled in the Nantahala Gorge, and driving there provides some of the most epic mountain waterfall scenery this beach bum has ever seen.

On Saturday before the wedding, Ryan, Tucker and I decided to go for a scenic drive. We'd planned to get out and do some small hikes on the way but naturally, the only activity we engaged in was walking down a set of wobbly steps to reach Nantahala Lake. We passed through three other states (SC, GA, TN) during this drive by sheer accident, which wound up taking us close to 4 hours. Here are some shots from our day, which are mostly of Tucker because my two compadres were getting hangry and refused to let me stop at any more overlooks. Next week on the blog, I get the Christmas spirit with the help of some elves.